Unpaid Care for Elderly Parents and Labor Supply Among Older Working-Age Men and Women Across Europe

We try to explain the differences between the performance (in both reading and math) of 8430 15-year-old daughters and 8526 15-year-old sons in 17 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development destination countries across Europe and Oceania with the PISA 2009 data from 45 origin countries or regions. In addition to the level of societal gender equality of the origin and destination countries (the gender empowerment measure, or GEM) we use macro indicators of the educational systems, economic development, and religions of the countries of origin. We find that migrant daughters from countries with higher levels of gender equality have higher reading scores than comparable migrant sons (but this is not the case for math scores). In addition, the higher the level of gender equality in the destination countries, the lower the reading and math scores of both the male and female migrants’ children in their destination countries. Further analyses suggest that the difference between the levels of gender equality, rather than the levels themselves, of the origin and destination countries explains more of the educational performance of both female and male migrant pupils. Our results also show that the low level of gender equality in Islamic origin countries is a sufficient explanation of the low educational performance of Islam male and female migrants’ pupils. Finally, migrants’ daughters seem to perform slightly better educationally than comparable migrants’ sons.

Given population ageing and the emphasis on in-home care, more working-age adults are facing the demands of providing unpaid care to the elderly with potential implications for their own well-being. Such effects likely vary across Europe because care is differently organized with a differing emphasis on public support, dependence on family, and orientation toward gender equality. We studied the relationship between unpaid caregiving for elderly parents and the psychological well-being of older working-age (50–64) men and women by analysing data from the Survey of Health, Retirement, and Ageing in Europe (SHARE), covering 18 countries between 2004 and 2020 (N = 24,338), using ordinary least squares (OLS). We examined risk of depression by caregiving intensity and tested whether coresidence mediated outcomes. Men and women providing care to parents experience important psychological well-being losses across Europe, especially when caregiving is intensive. A heavier caregiving burden associated with coresidence explains a regime gradient in depression, not least for women in Southern Europe. Results highlight the spillover costs of unpaid caregiving across Europe and the need to address caregiver psychological well-being, especially in contexts where state support for elder care is low and coresidence is common.

Purpose This study will look at the relationship between norms on gender equality on the one hand and the level of gender equality in the political and socioeconomic sphere, the presence or absence of armed conflict, and general peacefulness on the other. Design/methodology/approach Data on gender equality norms from the World Values Surveys, political and socioeconomic gender equality from the Global Gender Gap Index, armed conflict from the Uppsala Conflict Data Base, and general peacefulness from the Global Peace Index are analyzed in a bivariate correlation. Findings The results show a significant association between norms on and attitudes toward gender equality and levels of political and socioeconomic gender equality, absence or presence of armed conflict, and level of general peacefulness. Research limitations There is no data base on norms on and attitudes toward the use of violence which is why only levels of violence are included in the study. Social implications The study shows that governments, aid agencies, NGOs and others working on conflict prevention and peace building need to focus on improving gender equality in order to achieve a sustainable decrease in conflict levels and an improvement in general levels of peacefulness. Originality/value This study is original in that it looks at norms on gender equality on the individual level on the one hand and actual levels of both gender equality and violence in the society, including armed conflict on the other.

Purpose – The article aims at discovering classes and clusters of EU member-states considering their levels of economic development and gender equality to foster the enhancement of EU cohesion policy. Research methodology – The methodology includes the grouping by two parameters, economic development and gender equality, and the cluster analysis, the “far neighbor principle”, agglomerative hierarchical classification algorithm and the usual Euclidean distance as the distance between objects. Findings – There are no gender equality laggards among EU member-states. More developed countries belong to gender equality leaders, while there are two gender equality leaders and one gender equality adopter among transition countries. The group of less developed countries consists of six gender equality leaders and seven gender equality adopters. Research limitations – The results of cluster analysis may be impacted by off-shore activity of Ireland and Luxembourg. Practical implications – The EU supranational bodies can use our results to develop more efficient cohesion policy tools to ensure the adherence to the principle of gender equality. Originality/Value – The study is a pioneer one in determining nine classes and five clusters of EU member-states considering their levels of economic development and gender equality, as well as in introducing three types of countries depending on their level of gender equality, namely gender equality leaders, adopters, and laggards.

This study analysed whether gender context is important to differences in the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and well-being across Europe. We hypothesised that in countries that support equality in work life and where norms support women’s employment, the relationship between WFC and low well-being is weaker than in countries with less support for gender equality. Cohabiting men and women aged 18–65 years from 25 European countries were selected from the European Social Survey. A multilevel analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between well-being and WFC, and two measurements were used to represent gender context: gender equality in work life and norms regarding women’s employment. Contrary to the hypothesis, the results showed that the negative relationship was stronger in countries with high levels of gender equality in work life and support for women’s employment than in countries with a relatively low level of gender equality in work life and support for traditional gender relations. The context in which gender is constructed may be important when studying the relationship between WFC and well-being. In addition, emphasis should be placed on policies that equalise both the labour market and the work performed at home.

Women and men at work

MotivationThe study is motivated by the persistent low participation in the labour force of women in India, largely attributed to the burden of unpaid domestic and caregiving work. There is a notable lack of empirical studies on this issue due to the previous absence of comprehensive time‐use data. This research aims to fill this gap by exploring the impact of unpaid care work using the latest Indian time‐use data.PurposeThis is an empirical study that investigates the influence of unpaid domestic and caregiving work on the labour‐force participation and employment choices of women in India. Additionally, the study explores the extent of time poverty among working women and identifies its causes.Methods and approachThe study has utilized Time Use in India data 2019. To examine the impact of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics as well as unpaid domestic and caregiving work on labour‐force participation and nature of employment of women, the study has employed logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression, respectively.FindingsThe findings revealed that the time devoted to unpaid domestic and caregiving work reduces the probability of women participating in the labour market. An increase in time invested in unpaid domestic and caregiving work raises the likelihood of women opting for self‐employment. In addition, women workers in India experience higher levels of time poverty than their male counterparts, and this gender disparity in time poverty persists across all employment categories.Policy ImplicationsTo include women in the labour market, it is imperative to recognize, reduce, and redistribute women's unpaid domestic and caregiving work and invest in care‐friendly policies at workplaces to reduce time poverty among women workers.

BACKGROUND The gender gap in time use and its impact on health and well-being are still prevalent. Women work longer hours than men when considering both paid and unpaid (eg, childcare and chores) work, and this gender disparity is particularly visible among parents. Less is known about factors that could potentially mediate or moderate this relationship (eg, work-family conflict and gender role beliefs). Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) allows for the documentation of changes in momentary internal states, such as time use, stress, or mood. It has shown particular validity to measure shorter-term activities (eg, unpaid work) and is thus useful to address gender differences. OBJECTIVE The feasibility of the daily EMA surveys in a parent sample will be examined. The associations between time use, well-being, and stress will be examined, along with potential moderating and mediating factors such as gender, gender role beliefs, and work-family conflict. Finally, the act of monitoring one’s own time use, well-being, and stress will be examined in relation to, for example, the quality of life. METHODS We conducted a quasi-experimental, nonrandomized controlled trial with 3 data collection methods, namely, online questionnaires, EMA surveys, and qualitative interviews. The intervention group (n=64) will participate in the online questionnaires and EMA surveys, and a subsample of the intervention group (n=6-17) will also be invited to participate in qualitative interviews. Over a period of 1 week, participants in the intervention group will answer daily EMA surveys (4 times per day). In contrast, the control group (n=17) will only participate in the online questionnaires at baseline and after 1 week. The following constructs were surveyed: sociodemographic background (eg, age, gender, and household composition; baseline questionnaire); mediators and moderators (eg, gender role beliefs and work-family conflict; baseline and follow-up questionnaires); well-being, quality of life, and trait mindfulness (baseline and follow-up questionnaires); momentary activity and well-being, as well as state mindfulness (EMA); and feasibility (baseline and follow-up questionnaires as well as interviews). We anticipate that participants will regard the daily EMA as feasible. Particular daily time-use patterns (eg, high paid and unpaid workload) are expected to be related to lower well-being, higher stress, and health-related quality of life. These associations are expected to be moderated and mediated by factors such as gender, gender role beliefs, work-family conflict, and social support. Participants in the intervention group are expected to show higher values of mindfulness, well-being, health-related quality of life, and lower stress. RESULTS Patient recruitment started in November 2023 and ended in mid April 2024. Data analysis commenced in mid April 2024. CONCLUSIONS This study aims to provide valuable insights into the feasibility of using EMAs and the potential benefits of activity tracking in various aspects of daily life. CLINICALTRIAL Open Science Framework 8qj3d; https://osf.io/8qj3d INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/54728

BackgroundThe gender gap in time use and its impact on health and well-being are still prevalent. Women work longer hours than men when considering both paid and unpaid (eg, childcare and chores) work, and this gender disparity is particularly visible among parents. Less is known about factors that could potentially mediate or moderate this relationship (eg, work-family conflict and gender role beliefs). Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) allows for the documentation of changes in momentary internal states, such as time use, stress, or mood. It has shown particular validity to measure shorter-term activities (eg, unpaid work) and is thus useful to address gender differences.ObjectiveThe feasibility of the daily EMA surveys in a parent sample will be examined. The associations between time use, well-being, and stress will be examined, along with potential moderating and mediating factors such as gender, gender role beliefs, and work-family conflict. Finally, the act of monitoring one’s own time use, well-being, and stress will be examined in relation to, for example, the quality of life.MethodsWe conducted a quasi-experimental, nonrandomized controlled trial with 3 data collection methods, namely, online questionnaires, EMA surveys, and qualitative interviews. The intervention group (n=64) will participate in the online questionnaires and EMA surveys, and a subsample of the intervention group (n=6-17) will also be invited to participate in qualitative interviews. Over a period of 1 week, participants in the intervention group will answer daily EMA surveys (4 times per day). In contrast, the control group (n=17) will only participate in the online questionnaires at baseline and after 1 week. The following constructs were surveyed: sociodemographic background (eg, age, gender, and household composition; baseline questionnaire); mediators and moderators (eg, gender role beliefs and work-family conflict; baseline and follow-up questionnaires); well-being, quality of life, and trait mindfulness (baseline and follow-up questionnaires); momentary activity and well-being, as well as state mindfulness (EMA); and feasibility (baseline and follow-up questionnaires as well as interviews). We anticipate that participants will regard the daily EMA as feasible. Particular daily time-use patterns (eg, high paid and unpaid workload) are expected to be related to lower well-being, higher stress, and health-related quality of life. These associations are expected to be moderated and mediated by factors such as gender, gender role beliefs, work-family conflict, and social support. Participants in the intervention group are expected to show higher values of mindfulness, well-being, health-related quality of life, and lower stress.ResultsPatient recruitment started in November 2023 and ended in mid April 2024. Data analysis commenced in mid April 2024.ConclusionsThis study aims to provide valuable insights into the feasibility of using EMAs and the potential benefits of activity tracking in various aspects of daily life.Trial RegistrationOpen Science Framework 8qj3d; https://osf.io/8qj3dInternational Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/54728

Amid growing concerns about the economic implications of population aging and the sustainability of older adults' working life, unpaid family care work receives less attention despite its direct relevance to population aging. This article systematically compares the paid and unpaid working life expectancy at age 50 to understand the overlap and trade-off between paid and unpaid work among older European adults. Using data from the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe with the Sullivan method, the article presents gender differences across 17 countries in life expectancy at age 50 at various paid (employment) and unpaid (caregiving) role configurations. When work is defined to include unpaid family caregiving, women and men have similar working life expectancies at age 50, in contrast to prior research. However, its paid and unpaid components are gendered. The results also show that at age 50, women are expected to spend a similar number of years providing grandchild care and activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living care and that most of these years take place after retirement. The results highlight that the gendered tension between paid and unpaid work persists into older adulthood and needs to be accounted for in working life expectancy measures. The results also underscore the gendered implications of population aging and unpaid work in older adulthood for retirement age policies and strategies for promoting gender equality in later life.

Existing longitudinal studies on the relationship between working time arrangements (WTA) and work-family conflict have mainly focused on the normal causal relationship, that is, the impact of WTA on work-family conflict over time. So far, however, the reversed relationship, that is, the effect of work-family conflict on adjustments in WTA over time, has hardly been studied. Because work-family conflict is highly prevalent in the working population, further insight in this reverse relationship is invaluable to gain insight into secondary selection processes. The aim of this study is to investigate whether work-family conflict is prospectively related to adjustments in work schedules, working hours, and overtime work, and to explore sex differences and different time lags in this relation. Data of the prospective Maastricht Cohort Study were used. To study the effect of work-family conflict on a change from shift- to day work over 32 months of follow-up, male three-shift (n = 727), five-shift (n = 932), and irregular-shift (n = 451) workers were selected. To study effects of work-family conflict on reduction of working hours over 12 and 24 months of follow-up, respectively, only day workers (males and females) were selected, capturing 5809 full-time workers (≥36 h/wk) and 1387 part-time workers (<36 h/wk) at baseline. To examine effects of work-family conflict on refraining from overtime work over 12 months of follow-up, only day workers reporting frequent overtime work at baseline were selected (3145 full-time and 492 part-time workers). Cox regression analyses were performed with adjustments for age, educational level, and presence of a long-term illness. Work-family conflict was associated with a significantly increased risk of changing from shift- to day work over 32 months of follow-up in three-shift workers (relative risk [RR] = 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19–2.63) but not in five-shift workers (RR = 1.32, 95% CI 0.78–2.24) and irregular-shift workers (RR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.50–1.31). Within day workers, work-family conflict among full-time workers was associated with a significantly increased risk of reducing working hours during 1 yr of follow-up in women (RR = 2.80, 95% CI 1.42–5.54) but not men (RR = 1.34, 95% CI 0.81–2.22). In part-time workers, work-family conflict was associated with a significantly increased risk of reducing working hours during 1 yr of follow-up both in women (RR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.04–3.82) and men (RR = 4.03, 95% CI 1.28–12.68). Whereas the effects of work-family conflict on a reduction of working hours somewhat decreased among female full-time workers after 2 yr of follow-up (RR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.24–3.66), among male full-time workers the effects increased and reached statistical significance (RR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.05–2.21). Work-family conflict was not significantly associated with refraining from overtime work over 1 yr of follow-up. This study shows that work-family conflict has important consequences in terms of adjustments in work schedules and working hours over time, with considerable sex differences. The study thereby clearly illustrates secondary selection processes both in shift- and day workers, with significant implications for labor force participation, emphasizing the need for prevention of work-family conflict (Author correspondence: Nicole.Jansen@epid.unimaas.nl).

The association between unpaid labour and mental health in working-age adults in Australia from 2002 to 2020: a longitudinal population-based cohort study.

Background:The emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 has brought dramatic impacts to the global economy. The resulting health crisis and widespread fear have triggered labor shortage problems such as high job vacancy rate and low labor participation rate. Thus, how to increase the labor supply has become a hotspot among scholars. We aimed to analyze the influences of public medical insurance system on labor health status and supply.Method:Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey five-phase panel data, the new rural cooperative medical system was taken as an example to empirically analyze the influences of public medical insurance system on the individual health status and labor supply via the panel Tobit model and panel binary Logit model. The analysis revealed the mediating effect of health status.Results:First, Public medical insurance system could significantly improve individual health status. Second, public medical insurance system will lengthen the labor supply time and elevate the labor supply rate by improving individual health status. Third, the influences of public medical insurance system on labor health status and supply vary with gender and age.Conclusion:Public medical insurance system will generate positive influences on labor health status and labor supply. Hence, perfecting the public medical insurance system is able to mitigate the negative impacts of population aging and pandemic on the labor supply.

This research aims at a comparative analysis of the constitutional and legal foundations of gender equality in Ukraine and other countries, as well as the study of the constitutional and legal provision influence on the indicator of Global Gender Gap Index. The research uses the method of analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, systematization, cluster analysis. Research results on the influence of constitutional and legal provision on the Global Gender Gap Index, there are three groups among the EU countries: countries with a higher level of gender equality (Global Gender Gap Index between 0.784-0.861: Ireland, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden); countries with a more or less high level of gender equality (Global Gender Gap Index between 0.762-0.778: Latvia, Netherlands, and Portugal), and countries with an average level of gender equality (Global Gender Gap Index between 0.688 and 0.726: Greece, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic). The first group of countries has a more advanced constitutional and legal provision for gender equality. In the second group – the principles of constitutional and legal provision for gender equality are not fully implemented. In the third group – the constitutional and legal provision needs reviewing and improvement. Ukraine characterized by gender inequality, violence against women, low level of the legal protection of women, limitation of their access to participation in public, political and economic life.

This research aims at a comparative analysis of the constitutional and legal foundations of gender equality in Ukraine and other countries, as well as the study of the constitutional and legal provision influence on the indicator of Global Gender Gap Index. The research uses the method of analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, systematization, cluster analysis. Research results on the influence of constitutional and legal provision on the Global Gender Gap Index, there are three groups among the EU members: countries with a higher level of gender equality (Global Gender Gap Index between 0.784-0.861: Ireland, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden); countries with a more or less high level of gender equality (Global Gender Gap Index between 0.762-0.778: Latvia, Netherlands, and Portugal), and countries with an average level of gender equality (Global Gender Gap Index between 0.688 and 0.726: Greece, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic). The first group of countries has a more advanced constitutional and legal provision for gender equality. In the second group – the principles of constitutional and legal provision for gender equality are not fully implemented. In the third group – the constitutional and legal provision needs reviewing and improvement. Ukraine is characterized by gender inequality, violence against women, low level of the legal protection of women, limitation of their access to participation in public, political and economic life. It has been established that to ensure gender equality in countries, it is not enough to establish the principle of gender equality on the basis of constitutional and legal regulation. The Constitution of Ukraine (1996) and most of the basic laws of foreign countries establish the principle of equal rights and opportunities for men and women, and subordinate normative and legal acts detail them. However, the presence of significant stereotypes and non-recognition of the problem of gender inequality in society, restrictions on the rights, freedoms and opportunities of women lead to the deformation of the mechanism for combating gender inequality and protecting women's rights in socio-political and economic life.